Hero of Strength:Hammer
by Raspberry Waste
Summary: Father wishes for me to fulfill my duties as a monk. In my opinion it just means carrying an oversized jug in the shape of a golden acorn through a cave to collect water. Of course I agreed. What else was I to do? Not a love story!


**Title: Hero of Strength-Hammer**

**Setting: Spring. Oakfield. Well Spring cave. Temple of Light.**

**Genre: Action. Tragedy.**

**Rating: T for violence, gore, and language.**

**Summary: Father wishes for me to fulfill my duties as a monk. In my opinion it just means carrying an oversized jug in the shape of a golden acorn through a cave to collect water. Of course I agreed. What else was I to do?**

"Down by the reeds. Down by the reeds. Swim the sirens of Oakvale out to the sea. Down by the reeds. Down by the reeds. Float the souls left broken by white Balverines. Down by the reeds. Night blooming weeds embrace those who go dancing in sad moonlit dreams. Down by the reeds. A twisted path leads to Banshees who breathe out a cold winter's breeze. Nobody knows, nobody sees, the sirens of Oakvale down by the reeds." I hadn't been singing for too long before my escort arrived. He, I have to admit, was quite handsome. Tall, not too fat or too skinny, black shoulder length hair, and a very handsome face with vibrant blue eyes. He would be quite a catch for someone. Surely he wouldn't be interested in someone like me. Although I'm tall I quite a lot of weight on me. My only good features were my green eyes, and my long, orange, braided hair. Besides, I'm a monk, and love is a forbidden thing.

"I knew my lovely singing voice would attract the crowd." I started with a measure of confidence. Before jumping down from the stony ledge I had claimed as my waiting post, I took a final swig from my plain brown bottle of beer. When I found the bottle empty I tossed it aside and joined my escort on the ground.

I looked around momentarily, taking in the beautiful nature around me. The trees had already budded and flowers have bloomed. Birds chirped merrily as they performed twists and turns in the air. Spring in Oakfield was beautiful, and I would be spending this beautiful day in a dingy old cave.

"So, you're my escort? My father said you'd be coming." I noticed his dog next. It was obviously a mutt but cute none the less. I lowered myself on one knee to greet him.

"Hey there boy. Oh, you're a strong handsome fella, aren't you. I'll feel better having you with me in that cave, yes I will." I generously fluffed his warm grey-black fur before standing again, so I could properly introduce myself. "I'm Sister Hannah. Some call me Hammer when they think they're being clever. They're no. But I can't do much about it because monks make a solemn vow never to bash anyone's face in. Did my father mention that? Whatever fighting's to be done in there, it's all yours." He quietly stood there as I spoke. Not too serious but he hid his emotions well enough that I couldn't tell how he felt or what he thought.

\

"I'm Blade." His response was devastatingly short compared to mine. As I picked up th giant Golden Acorn jug, I left it resting against a nearby wall, Blade walked over to the cave entrance. I had no idea what convinced him to escort me through this ritual, it was ridiculous and full of non-sense. All it was, was carrying this thing on my back through a cave to collect water in in it. Sure I would need someone's help in there, but Blade seemed a bit… above this. I have to admit though, having him there was reassuring. He looked like the type of person who knew what he was doing.

Once I had a good grip on the smooth golden handle of the jug I walked over to Blade. I was hunched forward by the acorn's weight as I approached him.

"I don't mind telling you, I'm a bit envious." It was true, I was very envious. "You get all the excitement, and I get to carry this bloody thing like some sort of mule. I mean, look at it, it's enormous. Golden or not, how much water does a bloody acorn need?" Blade looked at the jug with a sceptical air. He was smiling a little, like my annoyance amused him.

"I guess," he said still smiling "that monks aren't very good at gardening."

I laughed a little at his pun. It wasn't very good but I guessed it was the best I would get from him. Not wanting to put my duty off any longer I gestured toward the Well Spring entrance. "After you."

Inside the cave it was moist and dark, despite the light of the torches along the walls that Blade expertly lit. He didn't dwell near the entrance for long. Careful of my footing, I followed him along the narrow, rocky path. Out of sheer nervousness and the need for sound I began speaking.

"It's amazing when you think about it. No one else has been here for maybe a hundred year. Well…no monks anyway. I guess an adventurer or two could have come in--but if they got out alive, I didn't hear about it."

We soon came to an opening . The paths walls disappeared and the cavern we entered was lit by beautiful little white lights attached to the ceiling. The path itself was now edgeless and a seemingly bottomless pit laid below. Blade momentarily stopped to pet his dog. The poor thing was terrified and shaking. After a few supportive praises from Blade the dog was a ball of energy and rearing to go.

"Look up there." I instructed when Blade was standing at his full height once more. He obeyed and followed my line of sight. "They're lovely. I think the They're called wisps. Souls of the dead that never left this world." We were walking again but I continued to talk. "It's actually rather sad isn't it?" Blade nodded in agreement. "You are a quiet one." Again, he nodded.

As we approached a steep area my foot caught a slippery patch among the smooth rock surface of the path. I thought for sure I would hit the ground but Blade caught me with ease, pushing me to my feet from behind, despite my weight. He smiled reassuringly at me when he was sure I was steady, but said nothing. Embarrassment overwhelmed me and to try and take the attention off myself I talked to the dog.

"Watch your step doggie, it looks a bit steep here." I tried my best not to sound embarrassed. Luckily Blade didn't pursue the issue. I didn't speak again until we reached a flatter section of the path.

"Do you reckon we'll run into anything nasty in here. I mean a dark, creepy cave is a hell of a place for a holy spring." Blade merely shrugged.

Soon enough we made our way into the central chamber of the cave. There was a torch in the center, which Blade lit, three gated doors and three plates on the floor.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. Blade only looked around the room with indifference. "I've never seen anything like this. Ever." After my little spout I quickly got to explaining what this room was for to Blade. "Now, according to my father , we need to go through these three doors in order to collect water. Putting weight on the pressure plates will open the doors." Blade nodded and watched as I stepped on the plate furthest left. "This one's the first." Immediately after stepping on the plate the first door opened. "There you go!" I chided to Blade. He again wasted no time and started to run down the steep winding path that was beyond the first door. I was slower that him, but caught up to him only seconds after he stopped in the middle of the room. He was waiting for me to explain. I looked around the room myself before letting Blade know what need to be done. There was an elevated area that had stairs leading to the top. On top there was a statue with it's arms raised to the sky. Beside it was a pressure plate and another plate beside it.

"Now, there are two plates in this room. It'll take both of us to get the water flowing. I stand here so I can catch it," I stood on the plate closest to the statue and knelt to hold the jug with more ease "and you need to stand on that one." I noticed now how light his footsteps were. He made little to no noise as we walked onto his plate, next to mine. A few seconds passed before the flow of water could be heard. Water fell from the ceiling in one single string and landed on the statues hands. From there it was directed into the jug.

"I can feel this getting even heavier. So far this isn't so bad. A couple of steep bits, but that's it." Blade, much to my annoyance, nodded. I ignored him and continued to speak. "You know this will probably be the highlight of my life. "The day I carried a jug through a cave!" Hardly epic poem stuff, is it?" No answer. I was about to continue my light complaining when I could have sworn I heard a groggy groan. Blade nor his dog seemed to notice. Did you hear something?" Blade frowned and shook his head. "Nah…probably just my imagination." I shook the thought of some awful creature that might be waiting for us in the central chamber out of my head. Blade was staring at me when I looked up. When he noticed me staring back he looked at the jug which was no longer receiving any water. "You don't talk much, do you?" He shook his head a little. I frowned disapprovingly at him, but he was already walking away.

"Right." I said more to myself then him. "I reckon that's all the water we're going to get from this one." Just as silently, well I tried to be as silent but my heavy footsteps made more noise compared to his light footsteps, I followed him. He was much faster than me and when I caught up to him I couldn't believe my eyes. Blade had his long sword drawn and was skilfully hacking away at a reanimated skeleton. Bits of skin were still attached to the bones here and there. Rags, dusty from years of being buried covered it's jagged structure. I recognised the creature immediately. It was a hollow man. It moved sluggishly as it tried to kill Blade with it's rusty cleaver. Blade easily dogged the hollow man's assault and cut cleanly through it with one vertical slice. Now the hollow man was nothing but dust.

"Bloody hell! That was excellent!" I cheered too soon. The beautiful lights above, the wisps, were descending to the path, in front of Blade. Once they touched down more hollow men appeared. They too were turned to dust at Blade's skilled hand. Once none remained Blade turned to me, sword sheathed. He didn't even break a sweat! He looked perfectly fine.

"The wisps…" he said quietly.

"I didn't know they did that. They must be trying to protect the water. Those skeleton things were hollow men. Their soulless skeletons possessed by malevolent spirits." Blade nodded. I wasn't sure if it was from understanding, or that he already knew that.

We were almost back at the central chamber when more wisps descended. This time there were more, and one had come after me instead of Blade. Fear had crept into me the moment it set its soulless eyes on me, but I had no where to run. Before it could strike me Blade dived for it and rolled up beside it. The hollow man didn't even notice. With one swift blow, Blade had jammed the long sword to the hilt through the creatures skull, and without it even knowing, it turned to dust. By the time I had recovered Blade was already running for the central chamber. Not willing to hang around I ran after him.

"That was fantastic!" I exclaimed as I walked into the central chamber. Blade, who was ahead of me, looked back and smiled. "those things didn't stand a chance! Have you ever fought those before? Sure looked like you did. That or you're a very fast learner." My last statement was a bit sceptical but he only continued to smile at me. My gut feeling was that he never fought hollow men before. "Well, I don't see any wisps now, and no hollow men followed us. Guess we're safe in here."

Without hesitation I ran across the room and stepped on the second plate. With a few creaking noises of metal on metal the gate had opened. This chamber didn't even have a path, just two statues for catching the water an a large staircase where Blade would have to ascend to reach his pressure plate. Before I could even explain where he had to go he was up the stairs and on his plate. I stood on my and again the water fell from the ceiling, onto the statue, and steadily into the jug. Bit by bit the Golden Acorn got heavier. I struggled a little to hold it correctly but got my grip back.

"You think the person who made this jug would have given it a flat bottom, in case you want to have a rest. But as it is, it would just tip over, and then where would we be?" It didn't take long for the wisps above to begin falling to the ground. "Oh, bugger, here they come!" It turned out I had nothing to worry about. Blade took care of them easily with his rifle. Each one of those gruesome creatures were shot in the skull and returned to the soil.

"Full!" I shouted when the flow of water into the acorn ceased. "Back to the central chamber then. Should only be one room left to go, so we're nearly finished." Blade and I hurried to the central chamber. Just as I went to step on the third pressure plate a screech so distorted echoed through the cavern. I froze on the spot, afraid to move since it was almost impossible to tell where the screech originated. For all I knew it could have been hiding in one of the chambers we already opened and was coming to finish us off. With a few thoughts of self encouragement I managed to look over at Blade. To my frustration he was as calm as ever. His dog, on the other hand, was terrified. Blade fixed that by giving him a treat and a word of praise.

"What in the world was that?" My escort shrugged the question off. "Are you ready for…whatever that was?"

"Yes, are you?" There was no tone in his voice that suggested he was teasing me. In fact, he sounded rather concerned. For once I was the one nodding. Determined to get this over with I stepped onto the final plate. I was surprised when the gate only opened a few feet off the ground.

"Where on earth…Hey!" The dog had run under the gate and toward the third chamber. Both Blade and I would have to stay and for him to come back or the door to open, since neither of us, especially me, could fit underneath. Frightened for Blade's dog I screamed out to him.

"Come back! Who knows what's on the other side!" Concerned deeply I looked to Blade for reassurance. "You think he's alright?" when Blade looked back at me he looked worried. That was the first negative feeling I've seen Blade display.

Idly I stared back at where the dog had disappeared. Minutes passed.

"Okay, I'm really getting worried now." More time passed before I could see movement from behind the door. Beside me Blade exhaled a sigh of relief. His dog was trotting merrily, tail wagging, toward us. Thank goodness he hadn't been harmed. Once close enough I realized something was between his jaws.

"What you got there boy?" The dog dropped a hollow man's head once he passed under the gate. It's mouth was open and it still had white-grey flesh attached to it's face. Little white hairs sprouted from it's head. The head's glassy eyes seemed to stare at me from the ground. The dog seemed proud of it's work and panted with it's tongue hanging out. "oh. That is disgusting. Oh, no, but you're a good dog for attacking him." The canine barked happily as I continued to praise him. "Who's a good boy? Who tears the heads off hollow men? Is it you? Is it you boy?" I turned to Blade who once again looked calm. "Quite a companion you've got there. Remind me not to let him lick me again."

"I don't know what I'd do without him, and I'll try to remember to remind you."

In front of me the door made a few loud clanking noises then scraped open. Not wanting to waste time I pulled the jug onto my back. "Uhg, shall we?" Before running ahead Blade nodded. Although he couldn't see me I rolled my eyes. Honestly the boy needed to learn how to speak. By the time I caught up he was already fighting hollow men in a large space where the path widened into a room held up by a few pillars. Gracefully he sliced through each one and shot does at a distance or too close to me with brilliant accuracy. Those who were unfortunate and got knocked down were torn up by the dog. Just when I thought we were free to go a large wisp sailed downward and landed in the center of the room.

"Oh my…" The hollow man that came from the wisp was headless and wielded two cleavers. It's body was much more ghastly than the smaller hollow men. It's bone structure was an ugly brown colour and whatever skin was attached glistened with moisture.

Blade approached with caution, his sword positioned for attack. The thing swung blindly, and when it didn't hit Blade it used lightning to shock him. Blade obviously hadn't expected this. He sunk to his knees, paralyzed. The headless hollow man approached me next. I scrambled backwards but found my self up against a wall. It raised it's cleaver to strike me, but once it was halfway to colliding with my skull, the cleaver and hand was blown away by a bullet. Blade now stood, barely, and was reloading.

"Stand back!" I did as I was told.

"You can get us out of here, can't you?" I didn't get an answer. The headless hollow man seen Blade as a bigger threat and was back to swinging at him with it's other cleaver.

He was struggling. Although he was still graceful and landing strikes the hollow man didn't flinch and when Blade fumbled a little it successfully disabled Blade's left arm. He screamed out in pain and jumped backward to get away from the second swing of the cleaver. Worry overwhelmed me. Sure I had almost died, but I hadn't been fighting off the undead all day. Surely Blade was tired and now he was bleeding freely. Just when I thought it couldn't get much worse Blade was forced to the ground, flat on his back, by a bolt of electricity from the hollow man. How I wanted to help him, but I couldn't break my vow. I just couldn't. The headless hollow man lifted it's cleaver to deliver a final blow. Before I could close my eyes, I didn't want to see him die, it would be too much, I caught the cleaver flying downward.

"Blade!" I screamed with all my might. He couldn't die. He just couldn't. There was silence all around. Even the dog, who had been cowering in the corner, made no noise.

"Hannah, open your eyes. I'm fine. We have to keep moving." Shocked I opened my eyes. Blade stood near the center of the room, sword sheathed and canine companion beside him, brushing dust off of his chest with his right hand. The dust must have been from the hollow man. My stomach churned at the idea of having a dead guys remains touch me.

"Thank goodness. I was really worried there for a moment there. Well, several moments." Blade was already walking away. "I…I thank you. You were brilliant." He half turned to smile at me but continued to walk.

"That's what I'm here for." Right, I almost forgot I was here for a reason.

"On we go then."

The final chamber was beautiful. There was a spot in the near center of the room that was elevated and another plate for Blade to stand on. The floor was covered in a beautiful white mist and there was another path that led upward toward the exit.

"This is it, this is the final room. Should be nearly done now. I know I said that before, but hopefully this time it's true." My heart was still pounding in my ears as I stepped onto the elevated area. Blade was already on his. I was still so on edge I almost forgot my blessing. Some how, something just didn't seem right. Above me light, a single large beam of sunlight, shone downward. It's warmth felt nice after being in such a moist, cold place all day.

"Lord of Light, bless this water, that with it we may give rise to new life once more. As new life rises, so shall we." Above us the door to the exit creaked open. From below I could see sunlight filter in. Frantic footsteps made their way to my ears. Patiently I waited to see who was there. Soon enough my patience paid off, and a monk, dressed in the traditional light monk attire rushed in. His white hooded robes seemed to glisten in the dark lighting of the cave. He bent over and panted for breath when he stopped at the top of the path. His voice, easily recognizable, was frantic.

"Sister Hannah!"

"Brother Robin? What is it?" Panic rose in my chest and the earlier feeling of wrongness was persistent. I had to fight to stay calm.

"It's your father. One of Lucien's men…he's holding him hostage at the Temple." I couldn't believe I had heard Lucien's name. He was the mayor of Bowerstone but had disappeared long ago. Why would he want my father? "He's got a gun." That got me running. I didn't take long to reach the top of the path.

"I have to save my father!" I shouted to Blade who was making his way up the path. Frantically I searched for some sort of weapon. I noticed a statue beside me was holding a hammer. Without thinking twice I grabbed the cool, grey stone handle of the hammer and pulled it out of the statue's grasp. With ease I slung it against my shoulder. I never held a weapon before, but I felt comfortable handling the hammer. "Come on, "I shouted once more to Blade, although he was beside me at this point "we have to go to the temple."

~*~

I ran to the temple as fast as I could. Blade must have really been injured since he wasn't behind me when I reached the temple. I couldn't have cared less at the moment.

"Father! Are you okay?" I exclaimed as I entered the Temple of Light. I looked to my right. The man holding him hostage was wearing black and red with a mask over his face. He didn't look at me once, or even pointed the gun at me when I stood beside my father at the center of the Temple.

"He's one of Lucien's men…" Father stated. He stared fearfully at the pistol.

"You're coming with me or he dies." The demand was in my direction. To prove his point the cocked his gun.

"Like hell I am!" I shouted angrily. Violently I raised my makeshift weapon. "Leave before I break you in half!" Before I could take a swing at the menace my father pulled my arm downward.

"Don't-" A gun shot tore through the air. Lifelessly my father fell to the ground in a heap. Grief and anger sprang forth.

"No!"

"Don't make me kill you too…" I was already running at him. As he tried to shoot at me he looked sideways and missed, I later found out he had been looking at Blade. Without missing a beat I smashed the bastard in the chest with the stone hammer. I could feel the vibration from each rib cracking through the handle. He too became a lifeless heap on the cold ground. It didn't matter to me. Grief turned to anger and I dropped my weapon. I turned to my father's body and fell to my knees beside him. Tears came in a steady flow of water and I buried my face in my hands. The man who took me in, cared for me and loved me, had just been killed because of a stupid vow. I should have killed Lucien's lackey sooner. I should have shattered his chest the moment I seen him.

"Father! I could have stopped him! You idiot! You stupid fool! I could have stopped him before he…" I continued to cry, too upset to continue talking. I could barely feel Blade's hand on my back, or his dog's snout brushing against my knee.

~*~

I found myself on my knees again a few days later at my father's funeral. I had finished crying the day he died and was ready for this. Solemnly I stared at the mound of dirt my father now lay under.

"I'm sorry, Father. Not that I broke my vow, I'm sorry I didn't break it sooner. I never did fit in at this place. We both knew that. And now I'm making a new vow: Lucien will die for what he did to you. I won't break this one." I stood and looked at Blade. He stood on the other side of the grave. He looked apologetic and I had to look away.

"Sister Hannah, the blessing." Brother Robin looked at me for my answer. When I didn't answer immediately he looked at the other monk beside him.

"You do it." Quietly I walked to the edge of the cliff my father was buried on. Below there was a small harbour, and out at sea the sun reflected off the ocean's blue waves. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Brother Robin reciting the Blessing.

"As new life rises, so shall we. As the seed returns to the earth, so shall we." With that finished they left. I turned to watch them leave.

"Is that it then? My father's gone. The Golden Oak is flourishing again. So life goes on as before does it?" Blade walked up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I should have tried harder." He was looking downward as I shrugged his hand away.

"You were injured. It's not your fault." A bright light, somewhere to my right startled me and I turned to see a woman dressed in a red robe with a hood walking toward me.

"Where did you come from? Who are you?" I peered over at Blade who nodded. Whoever she was Blade knew her. Somehow that was comforting.

"Someone who can tell you much about Lucien. Where he is, what his plans are, and how you can gain your revenge. If you will listen." The woman smiled creepily yet I didn't think twice about my answer. If Blade trusted her, and if she knew Lucien as well as she said she did then I wanted in.

"I want to know everything." With practiced elegance the woman extended her hand, palm facing the sky.

"Then come with me, Sister Hannah."

"Call me Hammer." And with that I took her hand.


End file.
